Fanning the Flames
by CoolyCakeCove
Summary: Shisui's altercation with Danzou ends without the former's death. Still, the Leaf Village faces the threat of the Uchiha coup. The fate or doom of the Uchiha rests in the hands of two traitors. AU What-if
1. part one: decision

**Fanning the Flames**

 _Shisui's altercation with Danzou ends without the former's death. Still, the Leaf Village faces the threat of the Uchiha coup. The fate or doom of the Uchiha rests in the hands of two traitors._

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 _Be brave, my little one._

 _Our pain compared to yours will be over in an instant._

 **A** _ **decision**_ **that cannot be undone.**

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 **0**

 **The tree shade provided him brief relief from what he had to do next.** Shisui Uchiha had once dreamed of the Leaf and the Uchiha unifying themselves together for once, though he believed in a little prodigy boy becoming the first Uchiha Hokage to make his dream come true. With every passing day, it seemed less and less likely that dream would ever come true.

Somehow in his pursuit of justice and equality, Shisui found himself on the corrupt side of law, an enemy to both his clan and village. Somewhere along the line, mass brainwashing became an _acceptable_ decision to make even though if he asked himself to do the same a decade ago, his younger self would reply without thinking, "Absolutely not!"

He continued to remind himself these steps were necessary to bring about peace. He understood that his clan was so blinded in self-interest they failed to see the importance of preserving the entire village. Shisui knew it wasn't entirely their fault for doing so. After all, the Second Hokage had taken great efforts to separate the Uchiha from the heart of the village. The Uchiha's anger was justified but still not commendable.

Shisui took the time to fully reflect on his decision, knowing it would be a great, irredeemable sin to turn his ability against the clan. Still, he believed it was okay for one person to take upon the dirt and grim of the world if others could be happy.

That was why he found himself sympathizing with Danzou Shimura ever so slightly.

The summer breeze picked up around him. A sound of a thousand leaves fluttering in wind muffled all noise. Something pricked at Shisui's subconscious, tensing his muscles and jerking his hand towards his kunai pouch. He humored the reaction, looking around and training his crimson eyes over the sunset-dyed forest.

It came from his peripheral.

Shisui lept out the tree he rested under and headed for another tree, mind racing. Where his back was once slumped were kunai dripping with an ominous fluid. The unnatural nature of kunai already alerted the young man that whoever threw the blades, they were not the typical ninja.

Shisui ducked under a particularly dark tree shade and calculated where the thrower was. They could have likely moved. He could be surrounded. Who ever thrown those kunai, they were watching him from afar for a long time.

 _Enemy ninja? Criminals?_ Shisui's mind sped faster and faster until yet another disturbance distracted him.

They came from the shadows, silent as night. Their form was somewhat nostalgic, for they were ninja and nothing could change the fact every ninja learned the same fundamentals, but it ended there. They were clad in brown, beige clocks with their porcelain white masks demonic under the elongated semidarkness. Their weapons were trained solely on him and Shisui could not betray himself otherwise.

Someone wanted him dead. By the looks of it, these attackers were not sent from the Uchiha.

"Shisui Uchiha!" a male voice shouted, voice unaffected by his facewear. "Stand down or die for your crimes!"

 _Crimes? I've done nothing so far._ Shisui glared and flickered away, a rather short distance away, just to understand his assailant's intentions.

They looked upon themselves in brief confusion before picking up his trail once again.

Shisui jumped tree branch to tree branch, finding nothing was easy to hear with the obnoxiously loud leaf fluttering and the wind whipping around his body. He had to rely on his eyes, but he could not see behind himself. Shisui kept looking over his shoulders to see his attackers were not very far away at all.

 _Persistent. Who ordered them to hurt me? Are they going by their own orders?_ On a whim, Shisui ducked under a pure black shadow and flickered far far away. He landed on the top of a tree 50 meters above and 100 meters east of the attackers. He could see their small silhouettes resting on the tree, apparently talking to one another. _No, they were definitely ordered. Nothing about this is chaotic at all if they were a pair of lone ninja._

Following that line of reasoning, these ninja mimicked Anbu ninja but were actually Root ninja, created in secret by Danzou Shimura, who most likened as an administrative assistant to the Third Hokage.

Danzou was just in the meeting with Shisui, the Hokage, and the Leaf Council about the fate of the Uchiha Clan. Danzou knew exactly Shisui's plan was. And now he was attempting to murder him only an hour after it ended? Something wasn't adding up. Danzou of all people loved to proclaim his love of the Leaf Village. He and Shisui sometimes disliked the Third's tendency for gentle slaps on the wrists instead of more serious punishments. Why would he want to kill the Uchiha?

Shisui reappeared before the Root agents, feeling their chakra jolt, the only indication he had startled them.

"I want to talk to Lord Danzou," he told them, attempting and failing at a bright tone. "This must be some mistake."

"Why should we listen to you?" an agent out of the four replied, some agent Shisui couldn't detect. "Is this a trap, Shisui of the Body Flicker?"

"It's just two friends chatting over the safety of our village," Shisui responded, smiling slightly at his own humor. "That's all there is. We can meet in that clearing down yonder." He jerked his head in the direction and four heads swiveled simultaneously.

"Kawauso, Mukade," the biege cloak called, moving his hands into an original hand seal. "Keep watch while we go speak to Master about this." With that, two ninja disappeared.

The breeze only then stopped, as if to emphasize the awkward silence between the three ninja who were once neutral to each other, now turned enemy.

"How long does contact usually take?" offered the young Uchiha, just to listen to his voice.

"We would never tell you."

Shisui was undeterred. "What's it like, being kidnapped as a child and forced to do the deeds of a cruel god?"

An agent's hand shot dangerously close to their kunai pouch. "If you think your words will sway us, save your breath."

Shisui shrugged and the silence stretched. Finally the missing two returned.

"He agrees," said the agent in beige. "So long as you try nothing suspicious."

"I won't. This is just a misunderstanding."

Though Shisui felt that no-one was convinced by this.

Shisui had come tete-a-tete with Danzou. The old warhawk looked just as foreboding as ever, his one visible eye a narrow slit. The way he strutted into the fading sunlight showed how unbothered he felt by killing Shisui.

"I'm glad you wanted to meet me eye to eye," Danzou said quietly yet his voice carried despite the rustling leaves all around him. "I was under the impression most Uchiha were angry, irrational heathens."

Shisui kept a small smile on his face despite his disgusting words. "I was concerned why you sent agents to kill me. I only want to end this potential war now. Surely you understand, Lord Danzou?"

He kept his Sharingan activated, daring the man to make a move.

The man sneered. "You don't deserve those eyes. You children are short-sighted. What happens when you use those eyes? You've wasted a perfect ability. What will happen if the Uchiha Clan threatens to revolt once more? See, the problem is that you're too young, too idealistic to see what a poisonous leech your family is. Unfortunately, I must take matters into my own hands."

It annoyed Shisui. The way he spoke. As if he was right and never wrong. The smile fell quickly.

"What would Lord Hokage have to say about this?" he shouted. "Killing an innocent child because these so many years alive has made you paranoid?"

"My boy, _Hiruzen_ will never know. _Hiruzen_ will be swayed by an apology and bow by me far more easily than a boy he's known only a year from such a savage clan," Danzou retorted and, for a moment, Shisui doubted. "How _naive_ of you to declare such a thing with no influence, no power in the shinobi world. My boy, talent only gets you so far. _Itachi_ should have been your first warning. His aloof nature has gained him many more enemies than admirers. And when Itachi dies, no one will remember him at all."

"Shut up," growled Shisui, hating how the man cornered him so.

And because of this mistake, Danzou smirked and said, "Already upset? I'm not surprised. Oh, I'll be taking your eyes now."

Shisui, as fast as he was, stared baffled at his casual tone. As he did so, Danzou lunged with a speed unimaginable from his appearance, outstretched arm reaching for Shisui's right eye.

Shisui grabbed the man's wrist right as his fingertips brushed his eyelashes. He heard the Root agents fall in step behind Danzou.

The man stared at him.

"Oh, look, you caught me. Are you going to turn me in?"

A whim occurred to him. Danzou was right. He had no real connections, no one to trust on the inside. For a long time, he was contented just being at Itachi's side.

So Shisui said, eyes burning bright, "You'll be giving me Root."

He did not take him seriously. Danzou smirked and _faded_ out of Shisui's grasp. The younger body dashed away from the sudden phantom. _What kind of power is that?_

"You Uchiha and your arrogance. Never change, won't you? It'll make killing you all the easier." As he spoke, he unwrapped the bandages covering his right eye. With the hidden appendage free, Shisui saw the red of a Sharingan fade to a white more imperfect than the Byakugan.

 _This man is insane_ , Shisui thought, horrified.

"Do keep your Mangekyou activated. I'll be needing it soon, to replace this eye."

 _By using a Sharingan, he can evade any attack? But it seems like one-time thing. If it required multiple uses, I doubt he'd throw away his last attempt so easily. Unless... I'm_ nothing _compared to him._

Shisui realized he was going to die before night broke. The calculating and cunning Danzou was no more. The young man knew that there probably wasn't much hope of winning anyways. It was like facing his own Uchiha coup.

 _Wait. He used up his last attempt._

Shisui grabbed his dagger and pointed it at Danzou. "You can have my eye. I won't need it to defeat you."

"Oh, certainly, continue thinking that way..."

"Try to take my eyes, Danzou. I'll show you. Go ahead and get your invulnerable technique back."

"If you think this is a skill a Sharingan can _copy_ or I'll somehow teach you the secret, you're beyond hope. Either you figure it out yourself or you never use it. The end. But I will accept your offer..."

The war hawk signalled to the agents.

At once the four launched kunai at Shisui and Danzou lunged once more.

Eyes trained on both enemies, Shisui reprogrammed the command he'd been practicing for a long, long time.

The world seemed to be moving in slow motion. Shisui's dagger was just making contact with the kunai while Danzou began the beginning seals of some technique. His eye ability could be activated so instantaneously, so insidiously.

 _Kotoamatsukami_.

And the order he programmed was short and sweet.

 _Die._

At once, the Root agents grabbed their kunai and slit their throats.

Danzou hands stopped forming seals. He grabbed a deflected kunai with a twitching hand while his eyes stared at Shisui.

"You stupid, _stupid_ child. The file said you never made a reckless move! Do you _understand_ what my death means? You've doomed the Leaf with your stupid teenage melodrama! You sorry example for a human _race_!"

He swore. He spat. In his final moments, Danzou Shimura was reduced to an angry coward. His hand moved on its own. It dragged the blade across his stomach, spilling red as it went, then the crimson blade approached his neck.

"...you fool! I'll see you in hell once you're finished dooming the home I love! _Fool_!"

The kunai cut his watery cries silent. Danzou Shimura's last act was tugging the kunai from out his throat. This indirectly caused the clearing to be splattered with the fluids of life. Like rain.

It was everywhere. The agents also helped to create the crimson mess Shisui couldn't look away from.

Everything is so red.

He dropped to his knees as he felt his Mangekyou lock. He caused this. Their deaths. He has no-one to blame but himself.

Could this altercation have ended differently?

Would he still be alive?

The sun set and darkness fell upon Shisui Uchiha, who doubted the integrity of the Leaf Village.

The leaves stayed silent.


	2. part one: secret

**Fanning the Flames**

 _Shisui's altercation with Danzou ends without the former's death. Still, the Leaf Village faces the threat of the Uchiha coup. The fate or doom of the Uchiha rests in the hands of two traitors._

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 _Be brave, my little one._

 _Our pain compared to yours will be over in an instant._

 **A** _ **secret**_ **that cannot be spoken.**

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 **-1**

 **For the first time in five days, he could walk in sunlight.** No mask forced him to walk in the darkest night. No orders prohibited him from the sun's judgement. Itachi Uchiha stands on top of the Hokage Rock, newly arrived from his Anbu mission. He hadn't noticed _it_ before as he rushed through the Anbu's secret entrance to quickly throw away his facade. The Leaf Village was somber.

Itachi quickly blended in with the natives as an average boy. He kept his head down, felt dark bangs hide his tell-tale birthmarks. Like a good ninja, he listened.

"...right? But he was old, wasn't he? It's to be expected," babbled an obtuse woman who was never seen without some portable food in hand.

"...I wonder how Lord Hokage will take this? That old man's been hard to read since when he first stepped in office, you know," rasped an elderly man, playing a slow-moving boardgame with another elderly man.

"Some said he was supposed to become the next Hokage, too," said a teenager to her friends.

 _Someone close to Lord Hokage has passed_. Itachi picked up speed, headed to the Leaf Graveyard. He had been there once before when he was so very young. It is where his relative's gravestone rested, a boy named Obito Uchiha. It was where countless other Uchiha relatives rested. It was where the Fourth Hokage rested.

It didn't take long to spot the newest addition to the Graveyard. A strong scent of jasmine flowers gave away the new stone and Itachi followed the smell. This new stone was as elaborate as the Fourth Hokage's stone and on it was _Danzou Shimura_.

Itachi's heart pulsed. Five days ago, he saw the man alive. His aura was so pungent, so powerful it was hard to ever imagine he would die so soon like this. That man was not sick. No, Itachi felt as though he had never been better. There must have been foul play. Some kind of conspiracy.

Once more, Itachi dawned on his Anbu mask and walked the night.

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 **A small, slender figure walked up the forest path, footsteps silent on top the dying foliage all around.** Shisui followed the figure from his vigil among the trees, already have a feeling he may know this person.

If the person knew he was being watched, he did not show it.

The figure trailed up the beaten path and to the doorstep of the Hokage. A secret meeting. Far the prying eyes of the village. Shisui noticed humorlessly they chose an abandoned shrine for a rendezvous. The young man heightened his hearing through the use of chakra and listened.

"Danzou Shimura is indeed dead," the Third Hokage said firmly.

"That man was healthy. He was never the type to engage in direct combat, especially in battles he could not win easily in. Lord Hokage, what really happened that day?"

"I cannot tell you. Please, make this quick. If my royal guard realizes I'm gone..."

"What will happen to me? To the other organization? It is not ideal to let them roam the Leaf freely."

"...you ask the hardest questions to answer." The Third Hokage manifested his pipe and begun to smoke. Shisui noted dimly the figure disliked that horrible smell. "I will handle it. Please. This will take time to sort out. And we have little of it."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage. I will make my leave now." The figure bowed deeply and vanished, leaving the Hokage alone to silently ponder.

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 **-1**

 **"Shisui, tell me what you know."**

Itachi had a suspicion Shisui was avoiding him. And with the warhawk's sudden death, it all made too much sense. Shisui killed the Shimura. On what grounds did Shisui think such a decision was okay? Now with his death, his father will have his doubts with Itachi's Anbu career or his family might be spurred into action more quickly. No matter what Itachi guessed, the Leaf was in a very tenuous situation.

As of now, Itachi gripped Shisui's shoulder tightly. They were within the depths of the Forest of Death, away from nosy ninja. "Why did you do that?"

With that question, Shisui's silence is broken. He turned to his longtime friend with a smile that seemed stitched to his face more than anything. "Itachi, what are you accusing me of?"

"That man's death," he said, though out loud, Itachi could not believe the connection. "Why did you..."

"He wanted my eyes, Itachi."

"Your eyes?" Itachi thought of the Sharingan, but the warhawk had many, many other opportunities to steal the eyes of less known Uchiha. "He knew about the _Kotoamatsukami_? How? You kept that secret from everyone. There could be no possible way..."

"He knew because I told him, right to his face." His friend gave him a bitter smile.

"Shisui." Itachi didn't know what he wanted to say. Without the full story, he could only speculate. His speculations began to grow more wild by the second.

"I thought I could save the day while you were gone," Shisui explained with a force laugh. "You could come home to a family no longer wanting to overthrow the village. You can spend more time with Sasuke. I talked to Lord Hokage and the Leaf Council about my plan to use the eyes against the clan."

"Shisui, that's a sin that can't be forgiven," Itachi interrupted. "You don't need to take on that bitter pain..."

"Regardless... I used my eyes on him. To save my life. It was... a selfish decision. I should have just died that day and believed in you, Itachi, our first Uchiha Hokage," and he closed eyes as he smiled.

Itachi knew at the rate things were going, there could be no Uchiha as Hokage. "I'm glad you're still alive. You're my only friend. I could never cope with seeing you as yet another person dead."

"Itachi..."

He didn't want to get sentimental right now. There were more pressing issues. "With Danzou dead, Father will be ready to act soon. Do we still have a _Kotoamatsukami_?"

"No. I can only use it once a decade."

 _What a strict drawback. Such is the price of the Mangekyou Sharingan._ But he was relieved. Shisui no longer would have the need to use his eyes against the clan.

"Has the Military Police Force begun investigating his death?"

"Lord Hokage said he died of old age and left that to the Anbu. You know that won't stop the really curious Uchiha. Though I doubt they'll get much evidence, honestly."

"What can we do, Shisui? Is the Leaf going to be destroyed due to hatred and war? No matter what, it seems we're at a dead end."

To Itachi, he had dreamed of being Hokage ever since the Third Great Shinobi War. He wanted to become a ninja of ninja. He wanted to completely remove the cycle of war and violence from this world. But this situation he was stuck in was _not_ something he had prepared for. A good ninja is certainly a balance of brains and brawns, but no-one told him he needed diplomacy as well.

He had never been good with people.

"I thought about that while you were gone," Shisui spoke, ending Itachi's silent self-pity. "I thought, ' _Maybe we'll get more time if our family has someone to blame and not generalize hatred to the entire Leaf Village_ '. I don't know about you, but this plan seems more practical than using my eyes, Itachi."

"Your plan?" Frankly, Itachi just wanted to do something. He wanted to feel like a competent ninja once again.

"Tensions blew up when the Nine Tails attack happened. The Leaf blamed the Uchiha, the Uchiha couldn't help because of our Sharingan. If we could just find who controlled the beast, our family and the village could have something tangible to lash out at. At the least, it'll buy us time."

"I understand what you mean, but what happens if the person who controlled the beast _is_ an Uchiha?"

"I think we all know it is an Uchiha at heart. Just not who it was," Shisui frowned.

"The Leaf will hate the clan even more."

"Itachi, we can get through this. Have a little faith, huh?"

Itachi exhaled through his nose. It was a beginning, a least. Maybe it was pointless in the end, but it felt good to be in motion and deluding himself.

 _Find the person who controlled the Nine Tails. Capture him. Bring him to justice._ Itachi thought the mantra sounded just like Danzou's missions. Suppressing a shiver, Itachi put the plan into action.


	3. part one: revolt

**Fanning the Flames**

 _Shisui's altercation with Danzou ends without the former's death. Still, the Leaf Village faces the threat of the Uchiha coup. The fate or doom of the Uchiha rests in the hands of two traitors._

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 _What will win?_

 _An unstoppable force meets an immovable object._

 **A** _ **revolt**_ **that cannot be undone.**

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 **-2**

 **The sudden news of Danzou Shimura's death startled many.** Though he was old as the Third Hokage, Danzou held himself with a vitality that surpassed even the God of Shinobi Hiruzen Sarutobi. Some conspirators believed the old warhawk did all deeds the Third Hokage took credit for. This was, of course, unable to be proved.

The death shook the Uchiha Clan's coup in particular. The Shimura had a stubborn backbone unlike the Third and the Uchiha knew that they had a disadvantage. Danzou had influences. He held the Hokage, the Leaf Council, Anbu, and super-secretive Root within his hand. The Uchiha Clan only had themselves to rely on, which was why it took so long to take any action.

With him dead, the clan's leader Fugaku Uchiha knew that rumors and complains of revolting might actually become reality.

For years he humored them or shot down particularly awful ideas. He knew his clan by heart and understood not all of them were capable of such a feat. Today, however, Fugaku knew the Leaf was crippled badly even though it didn't show on its immaculate surface.

Danzou was dead. The strength of the Leaf's military had weakened.

The Hokage was grieving silently, for he saw the man as a friend even if it was not mutual.

Hundreds of Root agents were sitting under the Leaf's bed without a master.

To anyone else, they would be petrified. At this point in time, eight years after the Fourth Hokage's death, the Leaf Village was once again crippled. It would take some intense behind the scenes work to get it stable again.

Fugaku Uchiha knew this fact and saw it as an opportunity. If the Leaf Village were going to treat his clan as trash, he would not go silently. If they were going to hate and thwart every opportunity just because a person had the last name Uchiha, he would not ignore this.

"Lord Fugaku," said Yashiro Uchiha, Sharingan activated by the anger in his heart. "The Hokage has forbidden us looking into Danzou's death. I wouldn't doubt if he suspects us for that as well. It is _always_ our fault."

"There could be foul play," Fugaku said plainly, shutting his own eyes so that his Sharingan would not be tempted to activate. "If the Leaf had nothing to hide, they would not refuse our assistance. Either one of our members did kill the man or it is a ploy to get us to revolt, only to reveal he is alive and the Leaf is not weak."

Yashiro gulped, not thinking that far in detail. "Then we wait even longer? We should take this opportunity while we can!"

"You forget we are hundred strong against the thousands of the Leaf. I do not want a slaughter of my people. Naturally, we should use our connections to figure out the truth behind his death."

"Lord Fugaku, only the Anbu can monitor that situation. You can't be trusting of that suspicious Itachi, can you? I understand he is your son, but we all feel as though he is weak and is swayed by the Leaf's words."

Fugaku did not answer for a moment. Yashiro sweated nervously during the silence, unsure if he had crossed a line in his agitation.

"We still have Shisui keeping in eye on him, yes? We'll use the boy to investigate and report back."

Yashiro nodded. "Yes, yes, I agree, Lord Fugaku."

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 **Shisui mumbled a sound exaggerating his tiredness.** _This is very troublesome. Bouncing back and forth like this. I've become nothing more than a puppet._

At once, three people pulled him three opposite directions. The Hokage told him to keep the truth secret from all ears and to sabotage Anbu's investigation into Danzou's death, if he did not want to be tried and killed himself. His clan leader Fugaku told him to report every single evidence that could lead to the culprit of Danzou's murder. Finally, Itachi told him that he wanted a world of peace and Shisui promised himself he would uphold that wish even more fervently now that he evaded death once.

But with three directions comes three different choices. Every direction has a firm right and wrong. These rights and wrongs overlapped the other's ideals. Every move Shisui made, he would be upsetting two other people. That was what made this entire affair so maddening. There were three shades of Shisui Uchiha and Shisui was finding it harder and harder to recall what the original considered right and wrong.

He had no choice. In the end, he was glad to work in these shadows while Itachi Uchiha, his pure and well-intentioned hero, could have a bit more time with his family and Leaf not at war.

Shisui smiled as he slipped on an Anbu mask that was not his. He vaguely remembered the owner died alongside Danzou. An Anbu _and_ Root agent. That person must have had a trial.

He wore the dead man's outfit as well, a little displeased by how the pants were just a bit too loose around his waist. Finally he took the man's dagger and closed the locker door.

Tonight the Anbu investigating Danzou's death were going to see the dead.


	4. part one: lie

**Fanning the Flames**

 _Shisui's altercation with Danzou ends without the former's death. Still, the Leaf Village faces the threat of the Uchiha coup. The fate or doom of the Uchiha rests in the hands of two traitors._

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 _What will win?_

 _An unstoppable force meets an immovable object._

 **A** _ **lie**_ **that cannot be forgotten.**

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 **-3**

 **He never particularly liked the warhawk and** _ **now**_ **he got to spend days upon days researching his death.** It seemed there were people in this world that you couldn't escape, no matter if they serew alive or dead. Thinking like that, a sour feeling returned to his heart.

He shut the locker door harder than anticipated, jarring the Anbu agent next to him. The cold, crisp noise made the feelings go away. Then he returned to seriousness.

The first thing he smelled at the scene of death was so much iron. It wasn't unfamiliar at all. As soon as the pungent order hit his nose, he thought very simply, _Oh, that would be blood, then. Lots of blood. There is no return from that much blood loss._

Still, arriving on sight had done a number on him.

The amount of red covering the clearing looked like paint. It had been hard to associate that much red inside such a small human body. It looked like a nightmare at had came to life, and the dusk that had painted the clearing red as blood helped little. It was a heavily surreal event that left him feeling nauseous.

Only the _click_ of the camera next to him snapped him partially out of his thoughts. At his side was his team member. The boy, a head shorter than he, took photos of the crime scene, unaffected by the spectacle. The older attributed this to innocence and lack of experience and dropped it.

Four hours worth of work revealed nothing beyond five bizarre suicides. It had to have been somehow staged. Danzou was not suicidal. On the contrary, anyone who saw a glimpse of his true self could see his fear of death. Even so, the Anbu could not sense a trace of chakra leading back to an owner nor find any weapons or poisons used to initiate the suicide. Finally, they checked the remains once more to ascertain the identities the bodies had not changed during their four hours of diligent work.

The Anbu man made his leave from the locker room still somewhat annoyed that nothing made sense. Why would Danzou be in a random clearing a few kilometers away from the Uchiha Clan with four Root agents? Why would he just kill himself like that? The Leaf's best sensors could detect Sharingan-based genjutsu with ease, but found nothing that could obviously reveal an Uchiha's hand.

"Excuse me... Captain?"

He stopped and turned to the young voice of his teammate.

"You seem upset," he stated plainly.

"With everything that's happened, why wouldn't I be? I've been assigned the craziest death in all of Leaf history. We have so many suspects and so many motivations to murder this man but not a single shred of evidence to connect it all together," he ranted, voice a few decibels away from shouting. "Lord Hokage trusts me to know how to solve this, but sometimes it feels as though he's given me this mission knowing I'll fail it."

"I believe in you, Captain," his teammate told him firmly. "This is really difficult, but not impossible. We just have to look under the underneath, like you say."

He sighed. There was nothing he hated more than hearing his own advice. He was too hypocritical. "I'll be returning to the crime scene. We still have the bodies in tact, right?"

"Uh-huh. Ask Panzaa about that whenever you want to see them."

"Right, right..." he exhaled with a dismissive wave, and vanished into the darkness.

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 **-3**

 **His feet guided him to the crime scene.** The smell of blood was far less intense now and didn't stir up memories he thought he repressed far better. There were a few other Anbu agents working as well, his teammates that didn't prefer being as tardy as their captain.

In fact, a female said, "Late again, Captain?"

He landed on the ground in a crouch. "I'll say it again: any more evidence?"

"Sensors trace two dozen bodies in these woods," replied an agent closest to his position. "This is a popular place for ninja to train. On the day of the attack, there was four ninja who entered the woods."

"...tell me they were close to Danzou."

"Not at all. The last trace is actually the furthest from the corpses."

 _A trace gone just like that_ , he mused.

"However, the sensor also detected something else. Two peculiarities."

"Oh?"

"All corpses had been using chakra. They were very agitated before death. Secondly, the Root corpses's chakra gets the closest to the most recent chakra before dying."

His ears perked up. "This somebody who was here last attracted the Root's attention briefly before the Root came to die right here? I'm guessing by the lack of names the sensors can't detect the owner."

"Correct, Captain. The chakra residue was tampered with, shortly after Danzou's death. Perhaps six hours afterwards and five hours before we arrived at the scene."

"That's no good."

Which was a massive understatement. The only ninja versed in tampering their own chakra signatures were Anbu, Root, Kage-level shinobi, and ninja who knew certain forbidden techniques. At least for Anbu and Root, the ability was to prevent chakra from being traced back to the mother country. Without that skill, the balance of world order would have been certainly compromised. It seemed the way the chakra was hidden was the exact same way Anbu and Root used: overlaying their chakra until the energies blend together into an unidentifiable mess.

Either there was a traitor in Anbu, or one of Danzou's "loyal servants" in Root played a part in keeping his murder secret.

And if there was to be any talk of a traitor in Anbu, there was only one person everyone would blame equally.

"Itachi Uchiha is not safe," said the Captain out loud, surprised by a protective throb in his heart.

"I agree. Everyone understands how critical of a player Danzou is in keeping the Leaf military strong. Little prodigy Itachi Uchiha, Anbu Captain at 12, is more than capable of this murder."


End file.
